The present invention relates generally to fire-barriers for installing in expansion-joint-spaces and more particularly to pre-assembled fire-barriers constructed with male and female coupling-ends for one-step drop-in installation of the barriers into straight-line and intersecting expansion-spaces.
The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty and usefulness of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art. The particular versions of the invention as described below are provided, in part, as illustrative and exemplary. Thus, the described versions should not be taken as limiting. Additionally, the invention is not limited to the examples provided.
Buildings and other structures are known to experience stress from many sources, such as extreme and/or repetitive changes in temperature, the force of high impinging winds, compression and expansion forces due to seismic events, settling of subsoil, building remodels, and excavation on or near the site. To minimize the effect of these stresses on the buildings or other structures, building codes now require that all structures must be constructed with spaces between adjacent wall, floor, and ceiling building units. These spaces, commonly referred to as “expansion-spaces,” “expansion-spaces” or “expansion-joint-spaces,” allow differential building movement to take place without risking damage to the structure, and thus are frequently referred to as “dynamic expansion-spaces”.
While expansion-spaces improve the life-time integrity of structures, they present a major risk in the event of a fire because the channels created by the expansion-spaces act as chimney flues providing pathways for gases, flame, and smoke to spread rapidly throughout the structure. To counter the flue effect, building codes for commercial or public structures generally require certified fire-barriers to be installed in the expansion-spaces to reduce or prevent the spread of flames, smoke, and gas through the spaces into adjoining areas. Fire-barriers protect both the structure and those who are within the structure by extending the time available for inhabitants to leave and for fire fighters to get to the fire.
During a fire, buildings and their fire-barriers are subject to even greater stress than usual, making it essential that the fire-barriers are able to retain their integrity. Accordingly, fire-barriers are legally mandated to be tested, rated, and certified. There are two currently mandated tests. One measures the ability of a fire-barrier to maintain its structural integrity under compressional and tensional motion. This test is referred to as the “cycle” test and its parameters are specified by ASTM 1399. The other test is referred to as the “fire” or “burn” test and its parameters are specified by UL 2079. The two tests are conducted in sequence. A fire-barrier is first cycled 500 times between the compression forces and tension forces and then, if the barrier passes the cycle test, it is placed into a furnace where it is tested for its ability to resist and prevent flame, heat, and gases from passing through the barrier.
Fire-barrier structures include “straight-line” fire-barrier structures made to be installed in the expansion spaces between the straight, continuous, parallel, segments of walls, ceilings, or floor units. Other fire-barrier structures include what is referred to as expansion-space-intersecting fire-barriers that are each shaped for fitting into one of the many geometrically complex spaces created by the intersection of two or more expansion-spaces. Examples of intersecting joint spaces include the “cross-shaped” intersection-space that results from the intersection of two straight-line expansion-joint-spaces that intersect at a 90 degree angle, or where the joint space between two spaced adjacent interior walls abuts the space between an exterior wall and the two spaced adjacent interior walls creating a “T”-shaped intersection-space. In the past, the only code tested and certified fire-barriers commercially available were straight-line fire-barriers. Before the present invention, there were no tested, rated, and certified expansion-space-intersecting fire-barriers.